Tigers at Minsk - First Play

I pulled Norm Smith's Tigers at Minsk (TaM) rules down from the bookshelf and settled in for a Saturday night read and think.  Having quickly sprayed a stack of four inch hexes with a coating of green paint in the bright afternoon sunshine, my plan was to give the rules a go for a solo battle on Sunday.  With a minimalist playing surface (maybe I will flock the hexes to cut down on the glare?) and a handful of troop stands, I set to work.

With no armies for the eastern front circa 1943, I pulled French and German troops from the box and set up Scenario 2.  With no requirements for eastern front armor, this would be a perfect infantry-only introduction.  The battle venue is transported to France, 1940. 

Scenario 2 - Following the Elefants 
OOB:

• German: 6x infantry sections and 1x HMG.  Can make smoke.
• French: 2x infantry sections and 2x HMGs.  No smoke.

To win, the Germans must exit at least one infantry stand off of the French Baseline.  Otherwise, French victory.  Game begins at 11:00 and ends at 11:50.  French first player. 

I will provide my First Impressions in another post but for now, straight into action.

French open up with fire from the villages into the woods.
One German infantry section destroyed and a second pinned.
Very tough start for the Germans.
Two more losses and German morale will be zero.

One French village defended by an HMG and infantry section

Germans put the left into command.
Laying smoke, one section advances on the left.
On the right, fire from the woodline pins a French unit
 positioned in the scrub.

German left in command.
Command stand encircled to denote status.

French put left in command.
Fire from village pins a German section.

German puts right into command.
With a hail of bullets from the treelines,
two French sections are destroyed. Ouch!

With French morale at zero, morale tests are taken.
One HMG team withdraws from a village
while the HMG on the French right holds.

French dispositions.
Only two HMGs remain of the French force.

As the German section moves into the woods,
the French HMG opens up with Op Fire.
German section is pinned in the woods.

French HMG deployed in the village is pinned
while the Germans advance on the right
 under cover of smoke.

Masked by a thick bank of smoke

As the second French HMG moves back into the village,
Germans advance on the right.
French Op Fire pins the German section in the scrub.

German section on the far left advances in the
woods to see victory within its grasp.

French HMG recovers from pinned.
German section in woods fails to activate.

Both French HMGs open up on the enemy.
German section in scrub is destroyed.
German section in woods is pinned.

German section rejoins its HMG while
the German section near the French baseline advances
toward the French baseline and victory.

German infantry in center lays down a withering fire
 into the HMG in the village.
Two hits = one kill!

The French stationed in the village on the French right
 has one final chance to prevent a German victory.
The German is destroyed but the HMG breaks!

With the loss of the German section,
 EVERY German unit fails its morale check.
Out of game time, the French win the battle even though
the French HMG is broken.

The victor.

Well!  That was a quick, exciting, and bloody battle.  A few lucky rolls but luck was impartial.  Both sides saw some well-timed shooting. Had the Germans held position and fired rather than withdrawn on the last turn, the French HMG may have been destroyed. If so, victory would have gone to the attacking Germans.

This is a very interesting scenario with much to think about with respect to force deployment, strategy, and tactics.  With the Germans setting up first, the French can place their outnumbered forces to their best advantage.  The Germans have difficult deployment choices to make.  Placing most of the weight on one sector guarantees that the French will do the same.  With villages near the center of the table, the  French can take a central position and keep most German advances in a cross fire.  Where to best place the French wire?  I opted for the hex adjacent to the scrub to prevent a German outflanking on the right.  I am sure other placements are appropriate.

I think I will reset and give this another try.